I'm slowly getting back to kdramas, so I picked this one up and at first I was all in. I loved every moment of this show. The acting was top notch and the story, at least in the beginning, was complex and unique.
I loved it!
So why the 7?
Well, what I loved about the show was the complexity of everything and how everyone was flawed. As the show progressed and more secrets were revealed, I thought that it would continue to add to the depth of the characters, instead I got the same kdrama. Rich guy falls in love with poor girl. Poor girl has a guy that likes her and the rich guy has a girl that likes him. Drama ensues.
I can accept that. What I couldn't accept was this love story. Min Hyuk and Yoo Jeong just didn't make any sense as lovers. Min Hyuk had some reverse Stockholm Syndrome where he fell in love with the person he was tormenting. It came about from obsession and then he loves her. It made sense. But for Yoo Jeong to love him back all of a sudden? No. That never made sense and never felt authentic to me. After five years of being harassed and tormented, you don't just suddenly say "I love you too."
I also felt like the story dropped the ball with Do Hoon, who was the most interesting character on the show. He's been brought up in a family that expects him to be the best, but still keep his morals intact. That all changes when he allows Yoo Jeong to take the fall for him. Him getting close to Min Hyuk and trying to destroy him seemed to be his ways of making amends, but in the end I really didn't know what he was doing.
I enjoyed my time watching this and was eagerly waiting for the next episode to appear so I could watch it, but now that everything is said and done, was this really all that different from the rest of the kdramas out there? Kind of, but not really. There's a lot of plot holes and the ending was rushed. I just wasn't satisfied when it was done.
I am in the minority with this, so if you think this might be something you'd like then check it out, but if you are looking for something new in the kdrama world then I don't think you'll find it here.
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Now, let’s list off the best and the worst of this drama, for me at least.
THE BEST:
The Acting
I have seen almost all of Ji Sung’s recent dramas, and I’ve always liked him but this was it for me. His character wasn’t an easy one to pull off and if it hadn’t been Ji Sung portraying Min Hyeok I would probably have a different opinion on this drama.
Hwang Eum Jung’s acting was really compelling as well. I felt and suffered every damn thing that happened to her throughout the 16 episodes.
Bae Soo Bin. How I hated you in this. This guy is such a good actor, I’m still waiting for him to actually play a character that you don’t wanna punch in the face every time he appears on screen. But maybe it’s because he’s that good at playing those guys that he keeps getting these roles, who knows.
Lee Dae Hae is still a little green for my taste. I watched I hear your voice not long ago and I felt like I was seeing the exact same character. She got better near the end of the drama though, so I was not bothered by her too much.
Yo Jung’s cellmates. THE ACTUAL BEST. They were the ones that gave the drama a bit of a light comedy tone that was very much needed between all the tragedy.
The Romance
Okay, it didn’t start because of the best of reasons. But it got so cute near the end I’m still smiling like a fool.
The Tears
This has to do with the acting really, unless you count all the tears I cried while watching this. But it felt so good to cry with the characters.
You know how sometimes you are watching something that you know is supposed to make you really really sad, so sad that you end up crying but you’re just left totally unaffected? Well, this drama handles the sad very very well. DAMN YOU DRAMA.
THE OST
Such pretty songs. Sometimes you get tired of listening to the same songs over and over again, but not this time for me. Plus, there’s one sung by Ji Sung
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The story of this drama flows very nicely and although it spends a lot of time introducing the situation in the beginning it doesn't do it too much. Story is quite dark but not overly so. This drama doesn't contain very many clichés or forced comedy as many dramas do which was very refreshing in my opinion. Feelings depicted don't seem forced or overacted but natural and the story is very believable. Plot was interesting and addictive and I liked the fact that charachters were quite complex and didn't always do what you expected.
I loved the music in this drama, it was beautiful, chosen to enforce plot and feelings depicted and lyrics of the songs were to the point.
I very much recommend this drama if you like darker plots or want to wacth something a bit more serious once in a while.
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The story is very gripping and trust me this is one to make the faint hearted cry buckets full of tears! Well it made me cry anyway! The story was well written. Certainly when you realise that this is the first piece of work that the writer has produced. It was brilliant.
The casting was the work of a genius. It was because of the actors this drama really came to life. The emotions that the characters felt were truly brought to life. When you see a character cry or smile you feel like crying and laughing with them!
In all honesty with the songs and OSTs they are beautiful but I think the drama overall overshadowed them for me. However the OSTs were perfect for the drama.
I would definitely watch this again. I would recommend everyone watch this drama. It has elements of many genres which will fit many people's liking. such as crime, romance, melodrama and some elements of comedy! But yes I loved it and I hope everyone else enjoyed this drama as well!! I was sad to see it end!!
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This review may contain spoilers
This really deserves a 10 rating; it really is closer to 9.5. The ending could have been a little bit more satisfying but what I will take away from this is the director's ability to put together scenes that we, the viewer will NEVER forget. I don't think I need to spoiler and mention any. I believe when you watch this, every one of those scenes will be fresh and new; things you have NEVER, NEVER seen before in a drama! Every single one of the main leads gave a STELLAR performance. From Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum to Bae Soo Bin to Lee Dae Hee; all were at the top of their game! Am I going to watch this again? You damn right!! Was this review helpful to you?
I am someone who is very hard to please when it comes to dramas. I usually drop it as soon as it gets draggy and boring or if I don't like it. And that happens with most kdramas I have seen in the past. I simply cannot watch past the first few episodes.
So I just decided to give this one a try and watched the first 2 episodes and liked it enough to carry on. However as I watched more and more, I became more and more obsessed with it to the point that I could not wait for it to be uploaded and subbed. And with each new episode the obsession grew bigger and bigger.
I love everything about this drama. The acting s OUTSTANDING. Previously I had seen a few dramas with Hwang Jung Eum and never thought she was good as an actress. However in this drama she really did prove me wrong. Her crying scenes were beyond amazing. Ji Sung is brilliant and the two antagonists also do an amazing job. Bae Soo Bin especially proves that he can sink completely into a character.
The story is amazing- I know that people that don't like this drama will probably say it's too unrealistic. But hey, if you find a realistic kdrama tell me about it.
It is the brilliant writing that makes the story even more flawless. Nothing out of context happens and there is never unnecessary scenes. The dialogues are are so great and meaningful and each scene is brilliantly portrayed to the point that you can analyse it like a school novel haha! Even though there is a lot of sad scenes, the romance and perfect humour evens it out so it is not your typical melodrama.
The chemistry between the two leads is mind blowing. There is so much pain and beauty in their relationship that it is sure to make you cry. And I found myself melting inside with every eye contact and painfully sweet dialogue that were all so beautifully created.
Overall, Secret is a masterpiece and you should definitely give it a go if you are after a good meaningful drama that has some depth. However avoid this if you like the kiddy, teenage fluffy rom-coms because this is not any of that. And if you are scared of a badly made ending- don't worry because unlike many Korean dramas, this drama has been written very well the whole way through.
I cannot say enough about this drama. watch it for yourselves and see! ?
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This review may contain spoilers
I feel very passionate towards Secret. I passionately hated it and passionately loved it while watching. It is the first drama that gave me such diverse feelings, and i am thankful and regretful because of that. Secret was the first drama that i thought of dropping, and one of the very least dramas that made me cry so much i actually hurt.STORY
You basically got the main premise of the show by the description: 'This drama will depict how a man falls in love with a woman who killed his lover' this is actually it. However even if it seems like a very straightforward show from the description this definately isn't the case. The base story here is about a hit and run incident in which the lead protagonist takes the fall and goes to jail. The hit and run incident ended up with a dead woman who is the love of the male protagonist. The two of them (the 2 leads) are meant to be together. The show starts so dramatically, the two of them have nothing to link them whatsoever, and this incident made their love even more unlikely. This was probably one of the main reasons i watched, in order to see if the writters can pull it off or it will be ridiculous. Well, they did pull it off, believe me!
Sadly, the main problem i had with the drama was the fact that it was boring beyond imagination, especially the first 5-6 episodes. People argued that the story progresses fast, and comments saying that none of the conversations are skippable. I disagree. The first 3 episodes were slow and super boring. The show tries harder after episode 4, it picks up in episode 7 and gets really enjoyable after episode 11. Episodes 11-16 were very good, and the last episode was F-L-A-W-L-E-S-S! But can one flawless episodes and a few GREAT plot twists in the end save a show? Yes they obviously can, since the overall rating i was planning on giving this was 7 and it went up to a 8.5, still even though i want to give it a higher rating, the first 5-6 episodes were almost unbearable to watch.
Another problem i had with the show was the fact that it wasn't obvious from the beginning what the drama was actually about. Was it the struggle of a woman who gets accused for a crime she didn't commit? Was it how she got through jail? No, to be honest it was about the aftermath of all this, and the romance that comes from revenge. The point of the show becomes apparent in episode 8 or so.
I will continue talking about the problems i had, saying that they overdramatized the female protagonist. I understand this is a melodrama, and the female lead needs to be vulnerable, and we need to feel sorry for her, yes, i get that; but, at some point i started thinking, what else can this woman (who has never done anything wrong in her life) go through?! I wanted to make this into a drinking game, i would do a shot whenever something sad happens to her (100% drunk rate in a few hours believe me). The show generally adresses, revenge, selfless people, selfish people and love, but in the first 6 episodes it mostly felt like: 'why bad things happen to good people?'.
These were pretty much the problems i had, with huge emphasis on the 'the first 6 episodes were dead boring'.
However, the show when it desides to pick up it does. It becomes very shocking, very emotional, until the last 2 episodes when it pretty much changes everything, and it exceeds expectations. The thing i need to praise the most is how they showed that love can come from revenge. The male protagonist is dead set on tormenting the female lead forever for killing his love, and yet, their love comes slowly and feels normal, it feels right, it feels natural. They showed how from hate comes doubts (doubts about if she is actually guilty), from doubts comes care and from care comes love. A huge applause to the writers for pulling this off without forcing it, and to the actors for making us believe in such an, otherwise, completely unrealistic thing. Probably this was the best and redeeming quality of the show along with the acting and the brilliant character development.
Overall, i had a difficulty rating the story. The base idea while it is interesting, i believe it is weak. The fact that the first episodes were dead boring didn't help either. Later on, the show rewards your (really huge) patience with amazing plot twists and couple swaps and shocking revealing moments. All of them felt very natural. Borderline, the fact that everything 'clicked' so perfectly made me give the story an actual 9. The writters took a somewhat weak idea, and crafted something definately worth watching. Congrats.
ACTING
Let's continue to the absolute BEST thing of the show, which is the acting. Possibly, the main reason i kept watching during the early episodes.
Hwang Jung Eum. ABSOLUTE QUEEN! I love her comedy skills, but i feel like she is overacting sometimes trying to be funny. After watching Secret, she needs to focus on melodramas. The woman has IT! She can pass her feelings on to you through a screen. I felt every scream, every cry, even when she was smiling, i felt her pain behind that smile. She was FLAWLESS in every way, she was luscious, we aren't worthy of her acting to be honest. A huge applaud to her, i will definately watch her other projects and looking forward to seeing her in the future.
Ji Sung. I already liked him but i LOVED him here. Official new fave actor. KMHM was more ON him, he was the star, secret is based more HJE's character, but Ji Sung really does a great job portraying a kid that evolves into a man. He had wonderful angry scenes, emotional scenes, his acting was real, spontaneous, sincere, truthful and emotional. The two leads shared a shivering chemistry, they need to act again together. Their chemistry really shines here!
Bae Su Bin deserves some special mention for his definitely memorable performance. For what he was given to do he was great, i hated his character with passion! This was his role's goal, and he delivered!
CHARACTERS
I'll need to dedicate a special part of this review to the characters. I need to talk about them. (If you haven't watched the drama already feel free to skip this part since it will, most probably, include spoilers). This drama has quite a few questionable character choices, that i need to talk about. Some dramas that deside to go in a controversial route don't have deep enough characters for the viewers to feel the need to excuse them or at least get in the mood to think what the characters are thinking, and generally understand them. However Secret, thankfully, does a great job making you think the reason why the characters do what they do.
Kang Yoo Jung. I'll start with the most difficult one. Here we have the selfless person. A person who will give up their own life for someone they love. KYJ suffered from the 'self-punishment' syndrome. She believed that she doesn't deserve anything good in her life, she believed she deserved the worst, and she kept hurting herself. I kind of understand why she did what she did in the beginning. It was her love, her one true love (or so she thought), and she probably thought it wouldn't end up with her going to jail and all that shit, so she took the fall ok. She gets out, and she breaks up, and omfg she keeps taking the blame, WHY GIRL WHY? You aren't with that (excuse of a) person anymore, you are free, stop accepting others treating you like a piece of shit, tell the truth, IT WAS HIS FAULT. But no, she still lies. She did things that made me believe that she actually believed she did it. Was she crazy? I couldn't keep watching if i couldn't enter her mind and understand what she was thinking. KYJ suffered from, what i said, self-punishment. How that happened? She was blaming herself for losing her kid, and that was it for her. She never deserved anything in her mind. I understand that, i get it. Up to a certain point i identified with her after this. I, myself, believe we need to be punished for the wrongs we have done. Sometimes the punishment you get from others isn't enough. KYJ kept and kept blaming herself for everything. She wasn't crazy she was depressed. Shocking character development to be honest, i appreciated her complicated character a lot.
Jo Min Hyuk. A selfish person. A spoiled playboy brat who only knows how to order people around and has never done anything in his life. Thankfully, the character development here is major. He went from being a spoiled brat into choosing others and not himself. Obviously you can understand that one of the best qualities of the show was the development of the characters! The way he stops hating her, and understands that a woman like that couldn't have done what she was accused of. He feels sorry for his mistakes, and he slowly begins to care. I appreciated the fact that when he confessed his feelings, he was shocked as well. He said what he said, and then he glared at her, like 'wtf did i just say? Do i really feel these things?' The actor did an amazing job getting these messages across just through his eyes. Amazing character, i loved him. Someone who can learn from the female lead how to care about others, and someone who can teach the female lead how to love herself. Seriously shivering couple dynamics, a perfect match. This couple was very well though. So much potential hidden, i couldn't possibly believe they could make them happen, but they did!
Ahn Do Hoon. Have you ever felt like punching a tv character in the throat? Or putting his house on fire? Wishing he would rot in hell for good? Yeah me neither, but it happened here. Here we get another selfish person. He is the exact opposite of JMH, while JMH evolves, ADH devolves. He is also the exact opposite of KYJ, while she puts all the blame for everything on herself, he places all the blame on others, saying this is his way to 'climb the ladder, and become a powerful person' Bitch, die! I hated him with passion what he did was fucked up, his excuses were shit, he was an official sociopath and a scary one! His ending was too lenient if you ask me
Shin Se Yeon. A self-centered rich spoiled girl, who wants something and she wants it now! Well girl, we all loved someone and we were rejected, grow up! A manipulator who does what she does using the excuse of having pushy parents. WE ALL DO, GROW THE FUCK UP! I can't say i really hated her, she was an unnecessary character imo. Her personality was very childish, and she never grew up.
MUSIC
We get another great OST here. Navi's song Incurable desease is flawless, you can hear the pain in the singer's voice.
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
Would i recommend it? Yes, even though i wasn't expecting me to say it. If you like melodramas you will love this one. Most people found it amazing from the beginning, which i really don't get but it says something. If you find the first episodes boring like me, don't drop it just yet, maybe you can fastforward the first episodes, read what happens online, and watch the interesting stuff. Believe me, i wanted to drop it more than 5 times, and in the end i am happy i didn't. However, please know, this isn't an easy watch!
Would i rewatch it? Honestly, no, the first episodes were boring, the later episodes were too dramatic, once is enough. Maybe, just to watch HJE act like aboss again, just for her!
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the different between a good drama and a brilliant drama is that the first one you just enjoy watching it and once it is finished you look for the next one but the second one "the brilliant drama" makes you live through it, you feel, cry, suffer, and laugh with it. In this drama you feel you are each character in it.
i also liked how the characters grow up and changed throughout the story.
it deserve to be watched more than 3 times at least.
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Usually the problem that occurs with most dramas is that they aren't able to hook you untill the end.
I have to say that "secret love" is one of the good made one, which have a storyline able to make you follow it till the end!
Other thant the storyline the actors were all handsome and capable!
What should I say if you want a drama that is entertaining(well done), that has Romance (and even if it isn't a totally new approach it can't be called cliché) and has great and handsome actors, This is surely your drama!
Good watch
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OK! So Y was this drama so good. I think that it brought out an ugly truth about life & how hard it can be for anyone. No matter if u have all the money in the world or if u r dirt poor. It made no difference in this drama. Every1 had huge scars. Even the minor players had some bad stuff in their closet.
When they totally dropped that BOMB in epi 15 I was all like..."OMG r we about to have an extension..." But I didn't figure that would happen this close to the end of the drama. Not like they r going to spring something like that this late in the game.
The ending was alright! The last kiss scene killed me. They made it seem like they knew each other well off screen....if u know what I mean (wink, wink, hint, hint). Good job actors. & Good job writers for keeping me totally interested. I thought the last epi was a little hurried, but they finished it up nicely & covered all their bases.
Rly good drama! I enjoyed every emotional roller coaster ride minute of it.
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